Clam-shaped electronic device and hinge mechanism thereof

ABSTRACT

A hinge mechanism includes a shaft, a cam, a spring and a sliding member. The shaft has a first end and a second end and the cam is movably disposed at the first end and has an inclined plane facing the second end. Also, the spring is disposed at the second end, and the sliding member is disposed on the shaft and is coupled with the spring. The sliding member moves along the shaft due to the elasticity of the spring. In addition, the sliding member has a contact capable of reaching the inclined plane, wherein the cam on which a force is imposed moves toward the second end so that an elastic potential energy is stored as a result of elastic deformation of the spring and the contact of the sliding member presses the inclined plane to rotate the cam by the spring&#39;s resilience.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/356,992, filed Feb. 3, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,846, whichclaimed the benefit of Taiwan application Serial Number 091,106,437,filed Mar. 29, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates in general to a mechanism for holding twocomponents, and more particularly to a hinge mechanism for a two-partelectronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various types of compact electronic devices, such as cellular telephonesand portable computers, have come into general use with the advances inelectronics technology in recent years. These compact devices havecovers (henceforth referred to as clam-shaped electronic devices), whichcan be opened to a specific size to make the device easy to operate whenthe device is in use, and can be closed when the device is not in use toprotect the keypad from inadvertent entries. Additionally, it preventsthe screen from being damaged or exposed to dust.

The cellular clam-shaped phone has become in wide demand not onlybecause it has the aforementioned advantages, but also because its coveris adapted to accommodate a variety of distinguished appearances foraesthetic purposes. Please refer to FIG. 1A, which shows a clam-shapedphone when its cover is closed. The clam-shaped phone 100 mainlyincludes a cover 110 and a main body 120. The cover 110 is horizontallypushed along the direction of arrow sign in FIG. 1B. After adisplacement of the cover 110 is made relative to the main body 120, thecover 110 is positioned and then pivotally rotated relative to the mainbody 120 in the direction of arrow sign in FIG. 1C. It is easy to turnthe cover 110 open simply by a push action.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hinge mechanismfor a clam-shaped electronic device so that the hinged cover can beopened when the device is in use and can be closed when the device isnot in use to protect the keypad from inadvertent entries and avoid thescreen from being damaged or exposed to dust. In addition, it makes thedevice easy to operate by horizontally pushing the cover with adisplacement and then the cover is turned to be opened automatically.Furthermore, the cover is adapted to accommodate a variety ofdistinguished appearances for aesthetic purposes.

The invention achieves the above-identified objects by further providingan electronic device, comprising: a first housing having a channel, ahinge mechanism disposed within the first housing, and a second housingincluding a protruding member. The channel comprising a chamber and asliding slot. The hinge mechanism comprises a shaft, a cam, a spring,and a sliding member. The shaft has a first end and a second end. Thecam is movably disposed on the shaft, slidable along the longitudinalaxis of the shaft, and rotatable around the shaft when being decoupledwith the first end. The spring has a fixing end and a stopping end, andthe fixing end is restricted by the second end. The sliding member isdisposed between the spring and the cam and slidable along thelongitudinal axis of the shaft. The protruding member is slidablyreceived within the channel for being selectively disposed within thechamber of the channel to engage with the cam within the first housingand for being selectively disposed within the sliding slot to releasethe cam. When the protruding member is disposed in the sliding slot, thespring pushes the sliding member toward the first end to make the camcoupled with the first end and preventing the cam to rotate around theshaft. When the protruding member is disposed in the chamber andengaging with the cam, the protruding member pushes the cam toward thesecond end so that the cam is decoupled with the first end and rotatablearound the shaft.

The invention achieves the above-identified objects by further providingan electronic device, comprising: a first housing having a channel, ahinge mechanism disposed within the first housing, and a second housingincluding a protruding member. The channel comprising a chamber and asliding slot. The hinge mechanism comprises a shaft, a cam, a spring,and a sliding member. The shaft has a first end and a second end. Thecam is movably disposed on the shaft, slidable along the longitudinalaxis of the shaft, and rotatable around the shaft when being decoupledwith the first end. The spring has a fixing end and a stopping end, andthe fixing end is restricted by the second end. The sliding member isdisposed between the spring and the cam and slidable along thelongitudinal axis of the shaft. The protruding member is slidablyreceived within the channel for being selectively disposed within thechamber of the channel to engage with the cam within the first housingand for being selectively disposed within the sliding slot to releasethe cam. When the protruding member is disposed in the sliding slot, thespring pushes the sliding member toward the first end to make the camcoupled with the first end and preventing the cam to rotate around theshaft. When the protruding member is disposed in the chamber andengaging with the cam, the protruding member pushes the cam toward thesecond end so that the cam is decoupled with the first end and rotatablearound the shaft.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the preferred butnon-limiting embodiments. The following description is made withreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a clam-shaped phone when its cover is closed;

FIG. 1B is a clam-shaped phone when its cover is horizontally pushed;

FIG. 1C is a clam-shaped phone when its cover is rotated to be opened;

FIG. 2 is a clam-shaped phone where its cover is detached from the mainbody;

FIG. 3A shows a hinge mechanism according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3B shows an exploded view of the hinge mechanism according to apreferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3C is a lateral view of the cam in FIG. 3B;

FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the cam taken on line 3D—3D of FIG.3C;

FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism in FIG. 3Ainstalled in a clam-shaped phone;

FIG. 4A shows a hinge mechanism in the first operational step accordingto a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism in FIG. 4Ainstalled in a clam-shaped phone;

FIG. 5A shows a hinge mechanism in the second operational step accordingto a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism in FIG. 5Ainstalled in a clam-shaped phone;

FIG. 6A shows a hinge mechanism in the third operational step accordingto a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism in FIG. 6Ainstalled in a clam-shaped phone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The hinge mechanism according to the invention facilitates the operationof a clam-shaped electronic device with a hinged cover. The hinged covermay accommodate a variety of distinguished appearances of theclam-shaped electronic device for aesthetic purposes. In currentinvention, the hinge mechanism pivotally connecting the cover onto themain body makes the clam-shaped electronic device open easily if theuser horizontally pushes the cover for a short displacement relative tothe main body, then the hinged cover will be raised to become openedautomatically. The operation principle for opening the cover with thehinge mechanism of the invention is to rotate the cam along with thecover by the elasticity of the spring from the sliding member, whereinthe protruding member on the cover is coupled with the cam forsimultaneous rotation. After horizontally pushing the cover relative tothe main body, the protruding member on the cover is advanced to imposea force on the cam so that an elastic deformation of the spring is madeand an elastic potential energy is released for operation.

Referring to FIG. 2, a clam-shaped phone according to the preferredembodiment is shown where the cover 110 of the clam-shaped phone iscoupled with the main body 120 by the hinge mechanism 200 disposedwithin the main body 120. After the assembly process, the cover 110 canbe turned to be opened by horizontally pushing the cover with a shortdisplacement relative to the main body 120, as shown in FIG. 1A to FIG.1C.

Referring to FIG. 3A, a hinge mechanism according to a preferredembodiment of the invention is shown. The hinge mechanism 200 includes ashaft 310, a cam 320, a spring 330 and a sliding member 340. The shaft310 has a first end 312 and a second end 314. The cam 320 is movablydisposed around the first end 312 of the shaft 310, and slidable alongthe longitudinal axis of the shaft 310. However, the cam 320 isrotatable around the shaft 310 only when the cam 310 is decoupled withthe first end 312. The cam 320 includes a first inclined plane 322facing the second end 314. The sliding member 340 is disposed on theshaft 310, and coupled with the spring 330. The sliding member 340 isonly slidable along the longitudinal axis of the shaft 310, but notrotatable around the longitudinal axis of the shaft 310. One end of thesliding member 340 is coupled with the spring 330 and the other end ofthe sliding member 340 defines a second inclined plane 342 capable ofreaching and stopping the first inclined plane 322. The second inclinedplane 342 faces the cam 320 and is in contact with the inclined plane322. In practice, the shaft 310 can be a stick-like or pin-likestructure. The spring 330, sliding member 340, and cam 320 are put onthe shaft 310 for moving along the shaft 310 without coming off.

Please refer to FIG. 3A along with FIG. 2. The main body 120 of aclam-shaped electronic device according to the invention has a channel122 on its lateral surface. The channel 122 includes a chamber 124 and asliding slot 126. The cover 110 is coupled with the main body 120 by thehinge mechanism 200. The protruding member 410 on the cover 110 isslidably received within the channel 122 for selectively disposed withineither the chamber 124 or the sliding slot 126.

The hinge mechanism 200 includes: (a) a shaft 310 having a first end 312and a second end 314; (b) a cam 320 movably disposed around the firstend 312 of the shaft 310, wherein the cam 320 includes (b1) a firstinclined plane 322 facing the second end 314 and contacting with thesliding member 340, and (b2) a rib joint 324 facing the first end 312and dimensioned to be received within the chamber 124; (c) a spring 330having a fixing end 332 and a stopping end 334, wherein the fixing end332 is restricted by the second end 314; and (d) a sliding member 340having a second inclined plane 342 facing the cam 320, wherein thesliding member 340 is slidable along the longitudinal axis of the shaft310, disposed between the stopping end 334 and the cam 320. When the rib410 is disposed in the sliding slot 126, the rib 410 releases the ribjoint 324 and then the spring 330 pushes the sliding member 340 towardthe first end 312 to make the cam 320 coupled with the first end 320 andprevent the cam 320 to rotate around the shaft 310.

When the rib 410 is disposed in the chamber 124, the rib 410 engageswith the rib joint 324 and then the rib 410 pushes the cam 320 movetoward the second end 314 so that the cam is decoupled with the firstend 312 and become rotatable around the shaft 310. Without applyingfurther external force, the second inclined plane 342 transfers theresilient force provided by the spring 330 onto the first inclined plane322 of the cam 320, then the rotated cam 320 will raise the cover 110 tobecome opened.

Referring to FIG. 3B, an exploded view of the hinge mechanism accordingto a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The components ofthe hinge mechanism structure include a shaft 310 with a first end 312and a second end 314, a cam 320, a first inclined plane 322, a rib joint324, an annular flange 326, a spring 330, a sliding member 340, and asecond inclined plane 342.

Referring to FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D, FIG. 3C is a lateral view of the camin FIG. 3B and FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the cam taken online 3D—3D of FIG. 3C. As shown in FIG. 3D, the cam 320 includes a ribjoint 324 having an annular flange 326.

Referring to FIG. 3E, a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism inFIG. 3A installed in a clam-shaped phone is shown. The hinge mechanism200 couples the cover 110 onto the main body 120 of the clam-shapedphone. The rib 410 disposed on the cover 110 has an incline designmatching the incline design of the rib joint 324.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a hinge mechanism in the first operational stepaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. As shownin FIG. 4A, the cam 320 moves toward the second end 314 by force F andthen an elastic potential energy is stored as a result of the elasticdeformation of the spring 330.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism inFIG. 4A installed in a clam-shaped phone is shown. As shown in FIG. 4B,the displacement of the cover 110 is made relative to the main body 120in the direction D so that the rib 410 on the cover 110 imposes a forceon the cam 320, and then the cam 320 moves toward the second end 314 forcompressing the spring 330. Therefore, the elastic potential energy isgenerated due to the elastic deformation of the spring 330.

The rib joint 324 includes an annular flange 326 and has a narrow cut328 located inside the annular flange 326. The rib 410 on the cover 110can be bar-shaped. As the rib 410 moves from the sliding slot 126 tochamber 124, the rib 410 imposes a force on the annular flange 326 sothat the cam 320 moves toward the second end 314 to compress the spring330, and then the rib 410 moves inside the annular flange 326 and maycontact with the narrow cut 328 so that the cover 110 is coupled withthe cam 320 for simultaneous rotation. Meanwhile, the elastic potentialenergy of the spring 330 is released and the cam 320 slightly movestoward the first end 312 and rotates around the shaft 310 to open thecover 110.

Referring to FIG. 5A, a hinge mechanism in the second operational stepaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The cam320 in FIG. 5A is positioned and will start to rotate around the shaft310. In the second operational step, the elastic potential energy of thespring 330 is maximized waiting for being released.

Referring to FIG. 5B, a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism inFIG. 5A installed in a clam-shaped phone is shown. The cover 110 isfurther horizontally pushed relative to the main body 120 in thedirection D. When the rib 410 moves entirely inside the annular flange326, the elastic deformation of the spring 330 is maximized and thecover 110 is ready to be opened.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a hinge mechanism in the third operational stepaccording to a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. Withoutapplying further external force, the cam rotates around the shaft 310since the second inclined plane 342 transfers a resilient force Fr ontothe first inclined plane 322 due to the release of the elastic potentialenergy provided by the spring 330. In addition, the rib 410 engages withthe rib joint 324 and therefore the cam 320 does not move along theshaft 310 but rotates around the shaft 310.

Referring to FIG. 6B, a cross-sectional view of the hinge mechanism inFIG. 6A installed in a clam-shaped phone is shown. The sliding member340 transfers the resilient force Fr onto the cam 320 due to the releaseof the elastic potential energy provided by the spring 330. The cam 320coupled with the rib 410 rotates around the shaft 310 and the cover 110along with the rib 410 rotates accordingly.

The geometric shape of each component of the invention can be changed tocover various modifications for performing similar functions. Forexample, the protruding member can have a rib joint instead while therib can be formed on the cam. Thus, the annular flange of the rib jointwill conversely impose a force on the rib so as to move the cam andpress the spring. The hinge mechanism according to the preferredembodiment of the invention, at least, has the following advantages:

1. The hinge mechanism is used for coupling the cover and the main bodyof a clam-shaped phone so that the hinged cover can be opened when thedevice is in use and can be closed when the device is not in use, toprotect the keypad from inadvertent entries and avoid the screen frombeing damaged or exposed to dust.

2. The hinge mechanism makes the clam-shaped phone easy to operate byhorizontally pushing the cover for a displacement and then the cover isturned relative to the main body and becomes opened automatically.

3. The way to open the cover is distinctive and the cover is adapted toaccommodate a variety of distinguished appearances for aestheticpurposes.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms ofa preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope ofthe appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similararrangements and procedures.

1. An electronic device, comprising: a first housing having a channel,the channel comprising a chamber and a sliding slot; a hinge mechanismdisposed within the first housing, comprising: a shaft having a firstend and a second end; a cam movably disposed on the shaft, the cam beingslidable along the longitudinal axis of the shaft, and the cam beingrotatable around the shaft when the cam being decoupled with the firstend; a spring having a fixing end and a stopping end, the fixing endbeing restricted by the second end; and a sliding member disposedbetween the spring and the cam, the slidable member being slidable alongthe longitudinal axis of the shaft; and a second housing comprising aprotruding member, the protruding member being slidably received withinthe channel for being selectively disposed within the chamber of thechannel to engage with the cam within the first housing and for beingselectively disposed within the sliding slot to release the cam; whereinwhen the protruding member is disposed in the sliding slot, the springpushes the sliding member toward the first end to make the cam coupledwith the first end and preventing the cam to rotate around the shaft;wherein when the protruding member is disposed in the chamber andengaging with the cam, the protruding member pushes the cam toward thesecond end so that the cam is decoupled with the first end and rotatablearound the shaft.
 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, whereinthe cam comprises a rib formed thereon, and the rib is dimensioned to bereceived within the chamber.
 3. The electronic device according to claim2, wherein the protruding member has a rib joint.
 4. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the cam comprises a first inclinedplane facing the sliding member and the sliding member further comprisesa second inclined plane facing the cam, and wherein the cam decoupledwith the first end rotates around the shaft since the second inclinedplane transfers a resilient force provided by the spring on to the firstinclined plane.
 5. The electronic device according to claim 3, whereinthe rib joint comprises an annular flange and has a narrow cut, wherein(a) the annular flange imposes a force on the rib so that the cam movestoward the second end and presses the spring, and (b) then the rib getsinside the annular flange and joints the narrow cut so that the secondhousing is coupled with the cam for rotation simultaneously.